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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Francis Ford Coppola's Masterpiece features Marlon Brando in his Oscar-winning role as the patriarch of the Corleone family. Director Coppola paints a chilling portrait of the Sicilian clan's rise and near fall from power in America, masterfully balancing the story between the Corleone's family life and the ugly crime business in which they are engaged. Based on Mario Puzo's best-selling novel and featuring career-making performances by Al Pacino, James Caan and Robert Duvall, this searing and brilliant film garnered ten Academy Award nominations, and won three including Best Picture of 1972.

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People used to say this was Frank Sinatra's world, and the rest of us just lived in it. After watching the multiple special features in the box set The Godfather - Coppola Restoration, one might conclude it's actually time for a cultural and historical revision: This is the Corleone family's world. The rest of us better tread lightly. Actually, the point of the half-dozen or so features crammed onto a disc accompanying the beautifully restored The Godfather, The Godfather II and The Godfather III, is that The Godfather movies have penetrated popular culture in such a deep and meaningful way that they are second-nature to everything. David Chase, creator of and writer on The Sopranos, for example, describes in the featurette "Godfather World" that his hit HBO series was intended to be the story of the first generation of mobsters actually influenced by Francis Ford Coppola's hit trilogy. Joe Mantegna calls the three films "the Italian Star Wars." (Mantegna co-stars in The Godfather III.) Alec Baldwin says no matter what one is doing, one is compelled to stop and watch the films if they're on television. Richard Belzer calls the films "a religion." And so on. A number of people similarly testify in "Godfather World" to the importance and ubiquitousness of The Godfather and its sequels in American life. There's no point in arguing, so its best to move on to the other featurettes, including "The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't," reviewing in detail much of what has been said about Paramount's mistreatment of Coppola, about casting fights (Steve McQueen as Michael?), about the studio's assumption they were getting a quick-and-dirty B-movie, and about producer Robert Evans' determination to keep his choice of director and unlikely actors under his wing. Fresh information within the special features, however, begins with "… When the Shooting Stopped," a fine study of post-production on The Godfather, with several surprising and fascinating facts. Among emerging details is an explanation of why Michael Corleone's scream toward the end of The Godfather III is silenced out. (Hint: it was meant to be the inverse of a sound effect in the first movie.) "Emulsional Rescue: Revealing The Godfather" talks about the painstaking work of restoring the first two films, beginning with a phone call from Coppola to Steven Spielberg (after the latter's DreamWorks studio became part of the Viacom family) asking if he'd request money from Paramount for restoration work. "The Godfather On the Red Carpet is a negligible series of fawning statements about the movie from hot young actors, while "Four Short Films" are brief and enjoyable takes on different aspects of The Godfather's impact on modern living. --Tom Keogh

Stills from The Godfather - The Coppola Restoration Giftset (Click for larger image)

The first two Godfathers are two of the best movies ever made. Godfather III is not in the same league as the first two, but it's not "Ishtar", either. The main advantage of getting the full collection instead of just buying "The Godfather" and "The Godfather, Part II" is the fourth disc of features and extras, which are not included in the stand-alone Blu Rays. I probably would have never watched "Part III" were it not part of this collection and it's worth watching, although I won't wear it out like I will Parts I & II.

The Godfather saga is a true slice of the history of America. The acting is superb, the films are quite violent, and rightly so. The Corleone family could certainly not ber viewed as boy scouts. Deceit and murder were their stock in trade, as it was with the other Mafia families. The struggles for power, the greed, and corruption, are all factors in the lives of these criminal organizations. One can watch these films over and over again. And still find new insights into the crimial life style. I purchased these films for their excellent portayals of organized crime. But I also bought them because thet highlight the negative effects of this life style on its participants. These dvds are well worth buying, a very entertaining trilogy. JRV

This set was one of the few in my dvd collection worthy of an upgrade to Blu-Ray. I'm speaking of The Godfather and The Godfather Part 2, of course. Part 3 is a complete snoozer and if I could have saved a nickel by buying only 1 and 2 I certainly would have done so.

Since I was in no hurry, I waited for the set to be on sale, then bought it for $20, almost half of it's current price. It seems the price of dvds on Amazon is more volatile than the stock market!